Wool yarn colored with dyes from California native plants. |
October
and November are important pruning months for California native plants. While some large shrubs are best pruned in
summer, many local natives are cut back during their brief fall dormancy (see ‘Pruning
Common Native Plants’ – November 2012, for more on pruning). Fall
pruning can produce lots of trimmings,
even in a small garden. These trimmings
can be composted or chipped to provide mulch.
But they can also be used for some great garden crafts.
One
of our favorite fall crafts is natural dyeing using native plant trimmings. Solar dyeing (see ‘Solar Dyeing with Native Plant
Trimmings’ – October 2012) is an easy way to dye yarns and cloth made from
natural materials (particularly wool & cotton). It’s a great way to get started with natural
dyeing. You can access our brief instruction guide
at: http://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/solar-dyeing-using-native-plant-trimmings-27255522
Colors
obtained from California native plants can be extraordinary. The
foliage and flowers of many plants produce lovely shades of tans, yellows and
oranges. Depending on the amount of plant material
used, you can obtain lovely pastel to medium shades with solar dyeing. Others native dye plants produce beautiful red-browns
and browns. Very few native plants
(anywhere in the world) produce blue colored dyes in appreciable amounts. And other colors, like some pinks and
purples, fade in time, particularly when exposed to light.
Leaves,
small branches and some flowers are the easiest materials to use for solar
dyeing. We’ve prepared a table of some
easy-to-use dye plants native to California. The table gives hints on how to extract the
most dye from each source. You can access the table at: http://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/easy-natural-dye-sources-from-ca-table.
Yarns dyed with Canaigre Dock (upper left), Rabbitbush (clockwise), Coyote Bush, Toyon and Utah Juniper |
The
plants in the table are commonly used in California gardens. If you
don’t grow them yourself, we suggest you contact local native plant gardens and
nature preserves. Many of them do
extensive fall pruning and produce lots of trimmings. Contact the garden or preserve to ask if you
can have some. Or contact other home
gardeners who may have trimmings to spare.
Never collect dye plants in the
wild; in most places, these plants need to be protected, not collected.
We
hope you’ll want to try natural dyeing.
It’s fun, creative and a great way to use your fall trimmings. You can also try using non-native and kitchen
garden plants for solar dyeing. Just be sure they aren’t toxic (check
at FDA Poisonous Plants Database:
2013 'Mystery Jar' - Dye is Arroyo Willow (Salix lasiolepis) leaves & branches |
If
you live in Southern California, you may want to visit our October/November natural
dye workshops and demonstrations at Mother Nature’s Backyard (see calendar page
for details). Each November, several
local artists/crafts-persons display
their work and answer questions about natural dyes. It’s a great way to learn more about dye craft,
meet local fiber artists and get inspired to try something new. We also unveil the results of our solar dye ‘mystery
jar’ (see photo above for the 2013 ‘mystery jar’).
_____________________________________
We
welcome your comments, below. If you
have questions, please e- mail us at: mothernaturesbackyard10@gmail.com
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